This is my car. Her name is Alverta Roberta by day. By night, she's the Silver Fox. I love my car. Sure, she shakes when I brake or sit at a light. Sure, she shutters on and squeaks when I shut her off. Even though she's not brand new she has been very reliable. I fear, however, that today was the beginning of the end.
My parents weren't the parents to buy their kids brand new cars, much less at 16. I don't remember being bothered by that then (and am grateful for it now) but I'm sure 16 year old Hillary grumbled on more than one occasion about needing a car. When I was a junior my parents allowed me to begin looking at cars. I liked my dad's car at the time and I believe I was interested in one similar to it. Some time around my birthday my dad took me by Raley Motors, owned by a friend of ours, to look at a Nissan that had just come in. I loved it. It was a different model than my dad's but around the same year. The only difference was it had no sunroof and it was champagne. Mr. Raley told me, to my disappointment, that someone else had purchased it. I was disappointed but it was, after all, just a car. That year my parents threw me a surprise party for my 17th birthday. I remember a few things from that party.
1. Tori worked really hard on it and pointed out in fun Tori-fashion how great everything was
2. David Kizziah, my cousin's husband, taught me what to do while everyone is singing "Happy Birthday" to you.
3. Jimmy Raley's birthday card wasn't from Jimmy Raley. It was from my parents and had a key inside.
I was a little thrown by the card but quickly got over the confusion and ran outside to see my new champagne Nissan Altima that my mom had just purchased.
But that car has a sad ending, as many know. Just a short month later, on the way to church, I totaled that car. I walked away with nothing more than a nose bleed, and my parents were so beyond relieved that I don't even remember one lecture (though they were probably in shock after I walked a way from being hit by a train).
By the time I finished high school my dad's car had become mine, probably a little bit out of necessity and a lot out of me being a ridiculous high school age teen who needed a car (entirely out of sacrificially generous parents). Alvie traveled with me to Tuscaloosa and then to Nashville. Most importantly, since being in Nashville she has taken me back to Tuscaloosa time and time again and over these trips I have gone from a single girl to an engaged one.
Alas, I believe she is dying. Today I was sitting at a red light and she stalled out and died. Luckily she started right back up but this is a first for this car. I think that this is the sad beginning of the end. With a crazy year ahead of saving for marriage and a wedding to pay for I praying and trusting that the Lord will provide.
Here's to hoping the Silver Fox shakes, rattles and rolls a little longer.
